I guess some of you know him from the free Simple Balance WordPress theme he has released a while back. In this interview, he has a number of interesting things to say about “free” and blogging. Enjoy!

You can visit Blogsessive.com about his blogging adventure and QBKL.net for his design studio. He also runs CREATIVEurope to showcase the best designer portfolios and blogosphere.cc for the latest news from around the blogosphere.

Thanks for the time you take to answer these questions, Alex.

1. Alex, welcome! Could you tell us something about yourself, who you are, what you do, etc?

Hello Stefan and thanks for the interview invitation. Who am I? I’m your average IT enthusiast, design and writing passionate and with a desire to help other people find their way in the online environment. More about me can be read on my about page on Blogsessive: http://blogsessive.com/about/

2. What does your typical day looks like?

It usually starts with the morning cup of coffee and a lot of online reading… blogs, newspapers and email/comment answering. After that, it really depends on a bunch of things. Being self-employed tends to lead to a variation of habits, from delivering projects on time to idea hunting, writing and bike riding for relaxation.

3. You blog at Blogsessive.com, a blog about blogging. Any tips on how you promote your articles?

Blogsessive is not your average type of blog. I’ve created Blogsessive out of passion and did not took a direct interest out of making money with it. Because of that, I haven’t really put a huge effort in promoting my articles, but rather let people discover and enjoy them. Most of the articles that circulated the internet have been promoted by readers simply because they enjoyed them and wanted to share them with their friends or readers of their own blogs.

In some special cases I did turn to social media services for article promotion and some direct mailing to a couple of bloggers in order to attract attention.

4. Simple Balance is a real success isn’t it? Why did you decide to release it for free?

I do think it’s a success. I’ve spent a lot of time developing and improving it and that showed in the way it has been received by the public. If we go by the standard definition of “free”, yes: the theme has been released for free. But, users have sent some donations in order to support this theme, and for that I’m grateful to all those who did so. Also, the theme has helped promote Blogsessive, attract new people, new traffic and also quite a bunch of backlinks. The better the product, the better the reaction.

Why did I decide not to charge money for it? Because, as stated before, there are other things you can gain from such a decision, and also, I wanted to prove that not everything “free” is a synonym to low-quality, sacrifice of functionality or design. I plan on releasing a few premium themes in the future, but also some other free themes. I’ve always enjoyed the concept of “choice” and I want the users of my (future) themes to have a choice when facing the decision of getting a new theme, of good quality, free or for a fee.

5. Do you have big goals for the year 2009 for your online career?

We all have big goals, but the most important thing is not “the big goal”, but rather the steps you take to get there. I focus on making the right decision at the right time. At this time, the biggest challenge I’m facing is finding the right percent of time to spend between growing my design studio (http://QBKL.net) and picking up the pace on Blogsessive with a few new concepts and ideas for 2009.

I’d say the biggest goal for 2009 is to continue to provide quality resources through Blogsessive and quality and fair-priced designs through QBKL.

6. DivitoDesign should *absolutely* interview:

Adrian Diaconescu : talented designer, freelancer and blogger.

Thanks for the opportunity Stefan, it’s been a real pleasure doing this interview.

1. Hello my friend! Can you introduce yourself to the crowd a bit?

I’m Fabien, I run SmallFishBigMoney, a blog that is broadly focused on business, blogging and entrepreneurship and delves into many other branches of the topic. I am 16 years old and I go to high school, I am therefore a part time blogger; and it can sometimes take its toll on me as a result. Thanks for having me here at www.DivitoDesign.com Stefan!

2. When did you start blogging and what was your motivation to begin SmallFishBigMoney.com?

SmallFishBigMoney.Com launched in October 2007, I went through several design changes and had varying levels of content. I like to say that it has truly been a 360 degree roller coaster ride for me, because it has been. My readers have been with me ever since I started (I’m very grateful for that); and I’m happy to say that we’ve picked up many new passengers along the way.

I had always been interested in the internet; and the incredible potential I knew it had. Since the age of thirteen or so I had been dabbling in HTML, making sites which used table based layouts, then I discovered CSS and it made my web-designing life a whole lot easier. As I continued to progress over time I developed over six trial sites to really refine my skills as a designer and web developer.

At the age of 15, I became more active online and the whole ‘social media’ bubble was in its prime. I think I’ve entered at a great time and I regret not starting even earlier…I had been to sites like ProBlogger and I had stumbled on his site a few times when I was Google searching. Then I bumped into John Chow‘s site, I read about his online ‘money-making’ ventures and I was quite interested. I have always had a keen eye for business and this was an opportunity for me.

I learned that he blogged and he made his money via affiliate marketing, private ad sales and various other methods. It was the opportunity for me to make a living online, a way to channel my thoughts and be heard online that really motivated me to get my own site and start blogging.

3. How do you manage to combine blogging with your daily routine? Do you have writing schedules or something like that?

At first, I have to say I was writing and delivering ‘okay’ content on a day to day basis, there was a month where I almost never missed a post. Amazingly, I don’t have any kind of ‘writing schedule’ or ‘posting regimen’, most of the time I manage my time in my head and think carefully about what I am going to write about and publish.

You’ll find that many bloggers don’t have a fully planned out blogging schedule, it’s just one of those things that you do when you have a couple of hours to spare; or between going to school and doing homework in my case. My best advice is to plan out your day in your head or on paper, it doesn’t have to be heavily detailed, just list the tasks you need to complete and prioritize them. Once you’ve done this the day will feel a little bit more flexible.

4. You’ve written some entrepreneurship and business posts in the past. You are just 16 years old, how did you get that information and knowledge?

I have to admit that I am only now starting to discover my true writing ability, 2008 marked the beginning of a new frontier with the SmallFishBigMoney Quality Matters Campaign 2008 I began earlier this year. When I first started out (2007), I was writing a lot of quantity but very little quality or noteworthy content.

In 2008, things have gotten much better, quality is on the rise and I try to expose my readership to as much new content as I can. I try and break the mould so they don’t get stuck in this vicious cycle of re-hashed content that is circulated around excessively. I provide posts that don’t always support a popular opinion, and I credit this style of writing to an extensive history of competitive debating and public speaking.

100 or more posts have been deleted since I started SmallFishBigMoney…Now I know some of you may think that’s plain insane, but I care about increasing quality at SmallFishBigMoney and sometimes drastic measures need to be taken, there are no two ways about it. I’m happier now than I was when I had the extra 100 posts, because I know when someone searches for content, there’s a higher likelihood they’ll find something interesting and subscribe.

5. You use WordPress on your blog. Do you follow some WordPress-related blogs to improve your blog’s performance?

I don’t follow as many as I would like to, but I do find some great sites when I’m blog surfing. I find that I learn most about WordPress when I’m designing a new theme, searching for plug-ins recommended by people etc…The most updates I get are from the WordPress Admin Panel updates.

6. Do you use social media sites to promote your content? Which one gives you the best results?

Social media is an integral part of SmallFishBigMoney’s marketing tactic, a combination of quite a few types of social media sites have all contributed equally well to growing SmallFishBigMoney.Com from a small unknown blog to one gaining traction and buzz in the sphere. I find that sites like StumbleUpon and Mixx are particularly effective in sending traffic to my blog, especially when they’ve been supported or voted for many times.

7. What are your goals for your blog in say, six months?

SmallFishBigMoney is only now beginning to flourish, in six months time, I look forward to attaining new subscribers and subsequently a more active community. I’m in the process of developing a new theme which will include a new logo, a consistent tagline, more content, less fluff and drastically reduced load-time. ((That was during the time this interview took place. The new theme is live and rocking!))

I’m actively increasing RSS feed subscribers, so I’d encourage you to subscribe to SmallFishBigMoney via RSS, I have some competitions coming up in the near future to coincide with my blog’s first birthday and I’ll be offering many prizes, a lot of which people will be highly interested in.

8. Do you have a fellow-blogger you would like to see interviewed?

You. I’ll be sending some questions your way very soon! Hehe! Thanks for having me at DivitoDesign.com Stefan! I look forward to doing business again soon.

That’s it!

I hope you all enjoyed reading what this guy has to say and you should visit his writings over at SmallFishBigMoney. Thanks Fabien for your time and answers!

After reading the answers this guy gave to the questions, I started to look from another side to him. I learned about how blogging is done when you are full-time employed and you are blogging beside that. It is important for you as readers as well!

The introduction

Therefore, I would like to introduce you to Jeffro! His real name is Jeff Chandler and he is the writer and owner of the blog jeffro2pt0.com. Recently, he decided to jump in a exciting job: Writing for performancing.com and he was (unfortunately it stopped..) also the host of the WP-weekly podcasts. Enough things to talk about! He is also showing his online adventures on his new personal blog, jeffc.ME.

The Interview

1. Hey Jeff! Thanks for taking the time to do a little interview with me! How are you today?

First off, thanks for making me feel special by asking me for an interview. Secondly, I’m doing pretty well.

2. A position at performancing.com opened up some time back and you jumped in. How is life treating you there? Are you enjoying the new experience and challenge?

Well, so far so good. The job at Performancing has helped me pay the bills. What is great about this opportunity is that I am writing for a site that my pal, James Mowery is also writing for. I admire his writing ability and his work ethic. Together with the rest of the writers of Performancing, I fee like we are slowly but surely bringing Performancing back to the pillar of excellence it once was.

As for the challenges that Performancing brings, it was extremely tough for me for the first few weeks as I didn’t know what to write about, how to write it, etc. The problem lies in knowing the audience. Now that I am in my third month writing for Performancing, I’ve begun to feel more confident in my writing and which topics I should be writing about.

3. How do you manage to combine blogging with your daily routine? Do you have writing schedules or something like that?

To be completely honest, I live within the realm of chaos theory. There is no rhyme or reason to my workflow. Here is what a typical day in the life of Jeff Chandler is like.

Wake up between 1-3 P.M. EST. Most times, it’s around 3 P.M.

Do my morning routine, take out the trash, take care of personal matters and get on the PC within an hour of waking up.

Check email and respond if necessary.

Check Performancing.com for new comments.

Check the HIVE for new posts.

Log onto Twhirl to see whats shaking in the Twittersphere.

Get on Skype and AIM

Think of ideas to write about. I might open up my FeedReader to see 1 billion unread items. I’ll browse through the headlines or articles to see if any resonate with me in which I can write about. If not, I’ll read a chapter or two of a book and try to generate a post idea from that.

I do all this and before you know it, 6 P.M. Comes around and this is when I make dinner. From 7-8 P.M. I relax and play a game before work. 8-8:30 P.M. I get ready for work. At 9 P.M. I go to work. I don’t get off of work until 5 A.M. When I get home, I fire up the PC, check emails and if I feel up to it, I write a post or two. I try to get to bed before 6 but it never works. Recently, I’ve been getting to bed by about 7 A.M.

Really though, I have no idea how I do this. I am looking at finding some way to schedule my life by the hour. There are too many times when I sit in front of the PC, ready to be productive but because there are so many things to do, I end up not doing any of them thus leading to nothing getting done.

So to sum up your question, I have no writing schedules, no routine, no rhyme or reason on how I get things done. I just trudge my way through each day, trying to get something done. I think I need an overdose of Lifehacker!

4. You run Jeffro2pt0.com and you recently launched a personal site/blog, JeffC.me. What are your goals for those two blogs in the next year?

Well, for Jeffro2pt0.com, I want to get my groove back. I really had a good thing going during my first year of blogging on that domain. Unfortunately, I lost my focus, changed topics and didn’t keep pace. The momentum on the site dropped and I am now in the position to try and get that momentum back. I also want to turn it into more of a serious venture. This meant that I had to establish a separate blog which housed my personal stuff while Jeffro2pt0.com was more of a serious thing.

My goal for Jeffro2pt0.com is to re-establish the community atmosphere I once had. I also want to see if I can’t make a few bucks by dabbling with monetization via 125X125 ads. As for my personal site, I have no goals set. JeffC.me will serve as a portal for everything I do on the net. Jeffc.me/blog will be my personal blog completely seperate from Jeffro2pt0.

5. I guess Jeffro2pt0.com brings in some of the traffic to your personal site. Do you use other methods to promote JeffC.me?

Actually, Jeffc.me has been around for less than a month. The .ME domain extension is brand new and has only recently been available to the public. Right now, I have yet to do cross promotion between all three domains. I plan on doing some cross promotion at some point in the future via a simple text link. As far as promoting Jeffc.me, it is still not in a position to be promoted as I’m still working out some kinks. However, once it is finished, I’ll be pointing people to that site to see what it is I’m doing on the web.

6. Do you know a blogger who you would like to invite for an interview by DivitoDesign?

I would love to see you interview James Mowery, also a writer for Performancing.com.

I will contact him soon!

I would like to thank Jeff to schedule an interview with DivitoDesign in his busy life. Best of luck in the future my friend, and if you need a favor in the future, just shout!